Coin-controlled machine.



A, D. 'GROVER.

COIN CONTROLLED MACHWE.

APPUCATION men IAN-24.1916

Patented Oct.- 16, 1917.

M Tm m Np fl 4 E5 v w Wm w n M L2 3 $5 ALBERT n. enovnn,

cnooonnrn COMPANY, A

OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 AUTOSALES GUM AND CORPORATION OF NEWYORK.

COIN-CONTROLLED MACHINE.

Patented Got. 16, 1917.

Original application filed December 17, 1914, Serial No. 877,647.Divided and this application filedJ'anuary To all whom it may concerncitizen of the United States, and a resident of New York city, in thecounty of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Coin-Controlled Machines, of which the followingis a specification.

This application is a division of my copending case, Serial No. 877 ,647filed December 17, 1914. Owing to an oflicial requirement for divisionin said parent case, all claims directed to the coin-controlledmechanism were canceled in order to be presented in this divisionalapplication.

The coin controlled mechanism which constitutes my present invention isvery simple in construction and operation, consisting merely of ahand-operable member which carries an adjustable connecting ele ment.Normally this element is in an inoperative position with respect to asuitable actuating device, but is adapted to be moved into engagementwith said device by the deposited coin, whereby the handoperable memberbecomes operatively connected with the actuating device to causedelivery of the goods. In the preferred form of my invention I providemeans for holding the conecting element in one or the other of itspositions during the operation of the hand member. In this way Ipositively prevent accidental movement of the connecting element frominoperative to operative position or vice versa.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation, with thefront wall or door removed, of a machine embodying a preferred form ofmy coincontrolled mechanism. 7

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section approximately on the broken line 22 ofFig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section approximately on the broken line 33 ofFig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

The casing shown in the drawings for inclosing the parts of the machineconsists of a front section tion 2 to which the front section is hingedat 3. I'Vhen the two sections are assembled they constitute a closedcasing. Any suitable locking mechanism may for locking the front section1 in closed po- 1 and a rear box-like secbe provided Serial No. 73,777.

sition. It should be understood that the rear box-like section 2 isintended to be secured to a suitable support, such as the back of atheater chair. So that when it is desired to gain access to the interiorof the machine, it is only necessary to unlock the front section 2 andswing it forwardly.

The rear section 2 is provided with a longitudinal partition s whichforms with the front section 1 the magazine or chamber M within whichthe vendible goods are supported. The bottom of the magazine M is closedby the plate member 5 secured to the front section 1 of the casing. Tothe partition l are hinged goods-supporting shelves 6 and 7. Only'twoshelves are shown in the drawings, but it is obvious that the number maybe varied to provide machines of different capacities. The hingedconnections between the shelves and the partition 4 are indicated at 8andt). The shelves 6 and 7 are normally held in supporting position andsuccessively actuated into releasing position by the bar 10 which ismounted on wall 11 of the casing forvertical movement by the lugs 12extending into the slots 13 of the bar 10. This is best shown in Fig. 3.The bar 10 is provided with angular slots 1% and 15. The slot 14 isformed with an angular tripping portion 16 and a vertical rest portion17 while the upper slot 15 has a vertical rest portion 18 and an angulartripping portion 19. It will be observed that the tripping and restportions of the slots l l and 15 are arranged reversely with respect toeach other, the reason for which will presently appear. The lower shelf7 is at its right-hand hinge-connection provided with a crank pin 20which engages in the slot 14 of the bar 10. Similarly, the up per shelf6 is provided with a crank pin 21 which engages in the slot 15 of thebar 10. Y wall of the A spring 22, secured to the rear section 2 of thecasing is at its free end formed with a head 23 which engages in thenotches 24B, 25 and 26 formed in the rear edge of the bar 10. The spring22 thus holds the bar 10 in any one of its operated positions.

The actuating bar outside of the casing through the medium of The lever27 is pivoted on a pin 28 extending from the rear section 2 of thecasing,

10 is operated from the by a hand lever 27 the side the deposited coin.

At its free or outer end the lever 27 is bent forwardly to form a handleportion 29 which extends close to the side wall of the casing and thusprovides a convenient means for pressing the lever downwardly by hand. Aslot 30 provided in the side wall 11 of the casing limits the movementof the lever. A contractile spring 31, secured at its upper end to a pin32 carried by the rear wall 01'. the casing, is at its lower endconnected to fthe hand lever 27 to hold the same normally in itsuppermost position, as shown in Fig. 1. Th hand lever 27 is providedwith an upper extension 33 which carries a pin as on which is pivotedthe coin-controlled gravity pawl 35. At its lower outer end the pawl 35is provided with a tooth 36. The actuating bar 10 is at its rear edgeformed with notches or recesses 37 and 38 which are in alinement withthe tooth 36 of the pawl At its rear end the pawl 35 is provided with aforwardly extending pin 39 which is in alinement with the lower end ofthe coin-chute indicated as a whole by S. The hand lever 27 is providedwith a forwardly'extending pin 40 also in alinement with the lower openend of the coin-chute.

The pins 39 and 40 are so arranged with respect to each other and to thelower end of the coin-chute that the deposited coin rests on the pin e0between the pin 39-and the edge d1 of the coin-chute. This is clear fromFig. l where the supported coin is indicated by the dotted lines C. Apin 4E2 carried by the hand lever 27 limits the movement of the pawl 35away from the actuating bar 10. At its lower inner end the pawl 35 isprovided with a lug 43 which operates with the fixed guide piece id tohold or look the pawl 35 in whichever path it begins its movement.

The top of the casing is provided with the coin-entrance slot l5 whichcommunicates with the coin-chute S. A permanent mag-. net P may bearranged to form part of the coin-chute and to deflect magnetic slugsout of the coin-chute through the opening 46.

The operation of the coin-controlled delivery mechanism abovedescribedis as follows: Normally the parts are in'the position shown in Figs. 1and 3. It will be seen that in this position of the parts, the crank pin20 of the delivery shelf 7 is at the bottom of the tripping portion 16of the slot 14:, while the crank pin 21 of the upper shelf 6 is at thebottom of the rest p'ortion'lS of the slot 15 inthe bar 10. It will alsobe seen that the tooth 36 of the pawl 35 is out of contact with the bar10, and that the lug 43 is to the left of the fixed guide piece 44. Ifthe hand lever 27 is pulled down without the previous insertion of acoin, the pawl 35 will'move in an inoperative path that is to say, thetooth 36 will remain out of engagement with the recess 37 in the bar 10."During this movement of the parts the lug l3 of the pawl 35 will travelto the left of the guide piece 44, whereby the pawl is held lockedagainst accidental movement toward the actuating bar'lO. Without theprovision of some such locking means as the guide piece id, it might bepossible by shakingor striking the casing a sharp blow to cause thegravity pawl 35 to rock forward into engagement with the bar 10, whichwould result in the delivery of a package of goods without the depositof a coin.

Let us now suppose that a proper coin has been deposited into themachine through the coin-entrance slot 45. The coin descends through thecoin-chute S into the position shown in dotted lines at C in Fig. 1. Asthe lug 39 of the swinging'pawl 35 is normally in the path of travel ofthe coin, the descending coin strikes the same laterally enter the way.This causes a forward rocking of the pawl sufiiciently to bring thetooth 36 into engagement with the recess 3? of the bar 10. Thiscoin-actuated position of the pawl 35 is indicated by the dotted lines35 in Fig. 1. This actuated position the operative or connectingposition of the pawl because it thereby establishes an operativeconnection between the hand lever 27 and the actuating bar 10.. The lug%O on the hand lever 27 is so arranged with respect to the lowerinneredge 41' of the coin-chute Sthat the deposited coin is sustainedinfposition by and between the lug L0 and the edge 41. ll hile the lug39 on coin C, it does not, strictly speaking, assist the lug 4-0 andedge ll in supporting the coin. When the hand lever down after theproper coin has been d posited, as above described, the pawl 35 pullsthe actuating bar down with it because of the locking engagement betweenthe tooth 36 of the pawl and the recess 37 of the bar 10. The movementof the parts is so limited that when'the hand lever 27 strikes the lowerend of theslot 30, the bar 10 has been moved the distance between thenotches 2d and 25, so that atthe end of this movement the head 23 ofthe. spring 22 engages the notch During this movement of the bar -10 theangular tripping portion 16 of the slot 14L rocks the lower shelf 7 fromhorizontal or supporting position to vertical or releasing position,through the medium of th'ecrank.

pin 20. Thistrippingof the shelf 7 causes the package supported therebyto fall to the bottom of the magazine where it is supported on the plate5 for removal bythe purchaser through the lateral delivery opening &7. f7

t will be seen from Fig. 1 that when the pawl 35 is in coin-actuatedposition, the lug 43 is thrown to the right of the fixed guide piece 44.Consequently, during the' subsequent downward movement of the pawl 35that lug and forces the pawl engages the M 2'? is pulled the guide pieceat holds the tooth 36 of the pawl in locking engagement with theactuating bar 10. This absolutely prevents accidental disconnectionbetween the bar and the handle 2'? when the latter is operated after thedeposition of a proper coin. When the lever 27 reaches the end of itsdownward movement, the lug 13 is slightly below the guide piece 44. Uponrelease of the lever the pawl 35 immediately swings to the rear (to theleft, as viewed in "Fig. 1), so that during the return movement of thepawl 35 the lug -13 travels along the left of the guide piece at. Tofacilitate and insure this path of movement of the lug 4.3 during thereturn of the hand lever 27, the fixer guide piece lrl is beveled at itslower end as indi cated at s14. It will be seen from this that duringthe return movement of the parts, the guide piece ed compels the pawl 35to travel in an inoperative pate, and thus prevents accidentalengagement of the tooth 36 with the recess 3310f the bar'10, whichremains in its actuated position.

When the bar 10 is in its first operated positionthat is to say,afterthe first package has been ejected the crank pin of the trippedshelf 7 is at the bottom of the rest portion 17 of the slot 14, whilethe crank pin 2-1 of the upper shelf 6, which is still in supportingposition, is at the bot tom of the tripping portion 19 of the slot 15.It will be understood that during the first downward movement of the bar10 there is no tripping of the shelf 6, because the pin 21 engages inthe rest-portion 18 of the slot 15. During the next operation of themachine after the deposit of a proper coin, the downward movement of thebar 10 causes tripping of the upper shelf 6 because of the engagement ofthe crank pin 21 in the tripping portion 19 of the slot 15. This secondmovement of the bar 10 is not interfered with by the crank pin 20 whichengages in the vertical rest portion 17 of the slot 14.

The number of recesses 37 and 38 in the bar 10 will depend, of course,upon the number of supporting shelves 6 and 7, there being a recess foreach shelf. After the first or lowermost shelf has been tripped, therecess 38 comes into alinement with the engaging tooth 36 of the pawl85.

The gravity pawl also acts as a cointester by testing the deposited coinas to size and weight. If the deposited check or coin is of less thanthe prescribed diameter, the pawl 35 will either not be rocked at all ornot sufficiently to cause engagement of the tooth 36 with the bar 10.The position of such a deficient coin is indicated at D in Fig. 1.Should the deposited coin be of insuflicient weight the same result willoccur as with the coin D. The weight and position of the pawl 35 are socalculated beforehand,

that it takes a coin of predetermined size and weight to actuate thepawl into connect ing position. It should be noted that when the handlever 27 is pulled down after the deposit of a deficient coin or check,the lat ter is automatically discharged or ejected out of engagementwith the pawl and hand lever before the parts reach the end of theirmovement. As soon as the gap between the edge d1 of the coin-chute andthe supporting lug 4:0 of the descending hand lever 27 is sufficientlywidened, the coin or check falls to the bottom of the casing. And thisautomatic discharge of the coin takes place with a good coil as well.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description of my newcoin-controlled mechanism that 1' have provided a device of ex treinesimplicity of construction and operation, functions which in priorconstructions necessitated separate or additional devices. Thus, thecoin-controlled mechanism of my invention, consisting of merely twomembers-a hand-operated member and a coin-actuated member-not onlyaffords connection between the hand-operated member and the goodsdelivery mechanism, but it also tests the deposited coin as to size andweight, and furthermore effects the automatic discharge of the coin.

lVhile I have herein shown and described a specific embodiment of myinvention, 1 wish to be understood that 1 do not intend to be limited tothe details herein set forth, as it is obvi us that in its broad aspectmy invention may be mechanically carried out in other ways than thatshown.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In a coin-controlled vending machine, a C0111Cl111t8, a downwardlymovable pivoted lever provided with a coin-support arranged to cooperatewith said coin-chute to sustain the deposited coin in proper position,an operating device normally disconnected from said lever, acoin-engaging element movably mounted on said pivoted lever and adaptedto be moved by the deposited coin, and means whereby the movement ofsaid coin-engaging element by the coin automatically connects said leverwith said device, said coin-support being so arranged relatively to saidcoin-chute as to cause automatic discharge of the coin by gravity beforesaid lever reaches the end of its downward stroke.

2. In a coincontrolled vending machine, a downwardly movable pivotedlever provided with a lug or projection, a fixed part cooperating withsaid lug or projection to sustain the deposited coin in proper position,a vertically slidable member normally disconnected from said lever, acoin-engaging element pivoted on said lever and adaptwhich performsseveral important engaging element by able downwardly by ed to be movedby the deposited coin, and means whereby the movement of said cointhecoin automatically connects said lever .with said device, said lug orprojection being so arranged relatively to said fixed part as to causeautomatic discharge oi the coin by gravity before said lever reaches theend of its down ward stroke.

3. in. a coin-controlled vending machine, a

vertically slidablebar, a pivoted lever movhand from the outside of themachine, a fixed part, means on said lever arranged to cooperate withsaid fixed partto sustain the deposited coin in proper position, adepending pawl pivoted at its upper end to said lever and at its lowerend provided with a tooth, said tooth being normallyout of engagementwith said ha r, and means on said pawl adapted to be engaged by thedeposited coin to swingsaid tooth into engagement with said bar, saidfixed part and said coin-engaging means being so arranged relatively toeach other that the coin is automatically discharged by gravity beforesaid lever reaches the end of its down ward stroke.

4. In a coincontrolled vending machine, a vertically slidable bar, apivoted lever movable downwardly by hand from the outside of themachine, a fixed part, means on said lever arranged to cooperate withsaid fixed part to sustain the deposited coin in proper position, adepending pawl pivoted at its upper end to said lever and at its lowerend provided with a tooth, said tooth being normally out of engagementwith said bar,

ea ers means on said pawl adapted to be engaged by the deposited coin toswing said tooth into engagement with saidbar, said fixed part and saidcoin-engaging means being so arranged relatively to each other that thecoin is automatically discharged by gravity before said lever reachesthe end of its clownward stroke, a projection at the lower end 01. saidpawl and a fixed guide piece with which said projection cooperates tolock said pawl in its operative and inoperative paths of travel.

5. In a coin-controlled vending machine, an operating device, a pivotedlever adapted to be operated by hand, a swinging gravity pawl pivoted atits upper end upon said le-' ver and normally out of engagement with aiddevice, means on said pawl adapted to be engaged by the deposited cointo swing said pawl into engage-n ent with said device, whereby saidlever becomes operatively core nected with said device, a projection atthe lower end of said pawl, and a fixed guide member arranged to engagesaid projection. on one side and the other to lock said pawl in itsoperative path of travel. at the downward stroke of said lever, and inits inoperative path on the return movement of said lever, said pawlswinging into its return path by gravity. i

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 10th day ofJanuary, 1916.

ALBERT D. GROVER.

lVitnesses:

F. E. LANG, A. L. DEANE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Gommissioner of Patents, Washington, D. Q.

